“The first 60 to 80 soldiers will land in Vienna tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon, so you can already see the withdrawal on site,” Defense Ministry spokesman Andreas Strobl told Reuters in Vienna on Tuesday.

United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) troops left behind, most of them from Chile and India, were doubtful the tense situation will improve.

The Austrians have patrolled the buffer zone between Israel and Syria as part of the UNDOF since it was set up in 1974.

The Vienna government said last week it would pull out after worsening fighting between Syrian rebels and government forces sent its soldiers running for cover.

Russia’s offer to replace peacekeepers from Austria in the Golan Heights was not accepted by the United Nations on Friday.

The UN rejected the offer due to an agreement between Israel and Syria which bars permanent members of the Security Council from the UN observer mission, Reuters news agency reported.

Russia, a longtime ally and arms supplier to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, along with the United States, Britain, France and China is a permanent, veto-wielding member of the 15-nation Security Council.